The Wonder of it All

What Horse Training Has Taught me About Life

I am now primarily a philosophy professor, but for years I was a primarily a horse trainer. Riding two to seven horses a day is intense, and the experience shaped me. I sometimes reflect on some of my lessons learned from horses, and how it has influenced how I live. Here are some of those lessons.

1. Quit worrying. Bad things are going to happen that you can’t control. Good horses will get sick and you could get hurt. However, if you are paralyzed by worrying about things that might go wrong, you miss out on the enjoyments of the present and still have to face inevitable problems. Worry does not prevent disaster.

2. If you panic when something problems arise, the situation will only get worse. Horses get stuck in fences, step on nails, and can manage to nearly kill themselves in a multitude of creative ways. Your panic does nothing productive, and another creature is relying on…

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Until February 2014, I was pastor of Divine Savior Presbyterian Church for about 24 years. I am interested in theology, alternative music, new worship music, culture making, philosophy and dogs. Most of all I am interested in extending the Kingdom of God and its blessings to everyone around me. I am the Director of the Southern CA. C.S. Lewis Society and I am a graduate of Azusa Pacific University and Fuller Theological Seminary. My wife Terry, my dog Jack Lewis and I host a Bible Study in our home on Sunday afternoons.